The Democratic Party ushered in a new era in the LGBT-rights movement this week with its full endorsement of marriage equality during the Democratic National Convention — an effort witnessed by a record number of out participants.
This year, 486 openly LGBT delegates — and 534 out participants in all — took part in the convention, held Sept. 4-6 in Charlotte, N.C. There were about 350 LGBT participants, 277 of whom were delegates, in the 2008 convention.
Locally, Pennsylvania sent 13 LGBT delegates, up from 11 at the last convention.
Pennsylvania’s out delegates hailed from all areas of the commonwealth, including Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, the Lehigh Valley and North-Central Pennsylvania.
The heightened LGBT participation mirrored the record support for the community’s issues, with the DNC voting to adopt marriage equality as an official platform plank, the first time ever a major political party has done so.
The approved language states that the party supports marriage equality and “the movement to secure equal treatment under law for same-sex couples,” noting that it also backs an exemption in such laws for religious entities. The platform calls for the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act and the passage of the Respect for Marriage Act and expresses opposition to federal and state constitutional amendments to ban same-sex marriage.
Equality Pennsylvania president Adrian Shanker served as an alternate delegate and told PGN before leaving for North Carolina that this was a significant year for LGBTs at the DNC.
“I’m very excited to be a delegate for President Obama at a time when the Democrats are about to fully embrace and endorse marriage equality for our country,” he said. “Putting this in the platform is not just a symbolic effort, but a strategic change of direction for the Democratic Party that I believe will continue the change we’ve seen in the last few years. This is a new opportunity to start winning on LGBT issues on a larger level than we’ve done previously.”
The marriage-equality inclusion was particularly meaningful for delegate Roger Lund.
This summer, Lund, chair of the Adams County Democratic Committee, introduced a measure to the Pennsylvania Democratic State Committee in support of marriage equality. The committee ultimately approved the resolution, which called on the national Democratic Party to also back marriage equality.
“To see this in the national platform and to see it, as I expect will happen, embraced by the entire party and our president is a big deal,” Lund said. “It’s moving us forward in a way we need to. Watching the [Republican National] convention we just saw, the other side has no intention of moving us in that direction.”
Delegate Sherrie Cohen, who also helped spearhead the state committee resolution, said the Democratic platform stands in sharp contrast with the Republican one.
“As The New York Times said, the Republican platform is the most aggressively antigay in recent memory,” she said. “To have such pro-LGBT policies in the Democratic platform is really exciting and shows the commitment of our party and our president to moving our issues forward.”
Presumed Pennsylvania state Rep. Brian Sims, a Democrat, said before the convention that the LGBT inclusion will be a breath of fresh air.
“Pennsylvania is one of the states that’s miles away from LGBT relationship or marriage recognition, so to be somewhere with the best of the best in the Democratic Party, pushing for marriage equality, is really exciting and really personal for me,” he said.
Lund, who served as an alternate delegate at the 2008 convention, also planned to take part in the series of LGBT-related seminars and workshops, so he could bring practical lessons back to Pennsylvania.
“I want to be better informed on talking points and ways, especially in rural areas, we can be talking about marriage equality,” he said. “I’m hoping to pick up some tips on how to come back here and lobby better and work for this change locally.”
Sims said he’s eager to build strategies with other politicos that will help turn out the pro-Obama voters this fall.
“Pennsylvania is a must-win state for the president to keep the White House and I’m excited to meet with and learn from other delegates in Pennsylvania and throughout the region about how we’re going to come back fired up to make sure the president does take Pennsylvania.”
Cohen expressed confidence that the Pennsylvania LGBT delegation would return with renewed energy.
“There’s a real clear choice for members of our community — do we want to go back or do we want to go forward?” she said. “We’re going to have tremendous momentum in the next few months and are going to be working very hard to make sure Pennsylvania stays blue.”